he track now was not quite so smooth; here and there were big
ruts, and Stanislaus and his sister were subjected to such a vigorous
bumping that they had to hold on to the sides of the droshky, and to one
another. In the altered conditions of their travel, conversation was
well-nigh impossible. The little they attempted was unceremoniously
jerked out of them, and the nature of it--I am loath to admit--had
somewhat deteriorated. It had, in fact, in accordance with their
surroundings, undergone a considerable change.

"What a vile road!" Stanislaus exclaimed, clutching the side of the
droshky with both hands to save himself from being precipitated into
space.

"Yes--isn't--it?" gasped Anno, as she lunged forward, and in a vain
attempt to regain her seat fell on their handbag, which gave an ominous
squish. "I declare there--there--will be--nothing left of me--by the--by
the time we get there. Oh dear! Whatever shall I do? Wherever have you
got to, Stanislaus?"

The upper half of Stanislaus was nowhere to be seen! His lower half,
however, was discovered by his sister convulsively pressed against the
side of the droshky. In another moment this, too, would undoubtedly have
disappeared, and the lower extremities would have gone in pursuit of the
upper, had not Anno with admirable presence of mind effected a rescue.
She tugged at her brother's coat-tails in the very nick of time, with
the result that his whole body once again hove into view.

Just then a bird sang its final song before retiring for the night, and
Stanislaus, hot and trembling all over, shouted out: "What a hideous
noise! I declare it quite frightened me"; whilst Anno shuddered and put
her fingers in her ears. They once more abused the road; then the trees.
"Great ugly things," they said; "they shut out all the light." And then
they abused the driver for not looking out where he was going, and
finally they began to abuse one another. Anno abused Stanislaus, because
he had disarranged her hat and hair, and Stanislaus, Anno, because he
couldn't hear all she said, and because what he did hear was silly. Then
the Stygian darkness of the great pines grew; and the silence of wonder
fell on the two quarrellers. On, on, on rolled the droshky, a monotonous
rumble, rumble, that sounded very loud amid the intense hush that had
suddenly fallen on the forest. Stanislaus and Anno grew drowsy; the cold
night air, crowning their exertions of the day, induced sleep, and they